as time goes on the back catalog of everything continues to grow without bounds, the amount of new music is constrained by the number of people bringing it to light - this will approach singularity with the actual total population of those publishing music, and the graph will flatline at our perception of whatever slim fraction we can perceive that's actually beyond mathematics to compute, much less predict; it will seem as if there is NO new music at that point, as a matter of practicality.
I “came of age” in the late 70s and early 80s, and believe me, there was endless crap in the pop music of the day. One thing he said strikes me. That there is now a huge back catalog of “good stuff”. In 1975 we had a little over 10 years of good modern recorded music to draw on. Now we have 50+ years, all available instantly.
I see your point. There's definitely a survivorship bias here. The timeless stuff endures because it was that good, but everyone forgets about all the terrible stuff that came out as well.
yes great point. Every year there is more and more available.... new audiences don't miss out on the old. Of course kids in the 70's will not have much selection from the 30's/40's. This trend just makes sense and it's not only to do with the music quality.
Yes, this back catalogue is indeed growing and the internet increased accessability immensely. One shouldn't restrict oneself to a certain time period, because there has been good music throughout all these decades.
1976 - 1996 The Gloden Years 1996 the year that Music, TV, Films & Theatre all seem to have died - 21st Century has seen the decimation in all of those arenas.
@Jeff Fogel - True, but on these platforms we can find independent talented people not the selected, groomed and placed talentless who were created by the powers that shouldn't be for their New World of Talentless bottomend Mediocracy flooded across their MSM.
My 17 year old daughter listens to everything from Queen to The Cure. Nine Inch Nails to Ministry. Bowie, Nina Simone, Kate Bush, Dylan, Depeche Mode etc. From what I have seen a lot of teenagers are now going back and checking out older music.
I grew up on classic rock...AND Depeche Mode. Awesome. My favourites right now are Band-Maid...all about the songs...I've never cared about image, just honest artists.
I think part of the issue is that we're hitting a technological plateau when it comes to music. Heavy metal guitars were new and exciting in the 70s. Synths made massive strides between the 60s and 80s. There are a few cool things happening with software synthesizer, especially free and budget options, but not much that really sounds significantly different from 10 years ago.
And it's getting worse it seems. Because there is no recording budget, metalbands for a very large part resort to Neural DSP plugins. Making it sound even less different.
@@skeletonmodel I won't part with money for badly recorded bands. Latest CDs I've bought are by Band-Maid...no corners cut in the studio...proper gear played with talent.
Got nothing to do with it. Rock & Roll & Hip Hop never hinged on that stuff. It's about whether it connects with people in a certain way that satisfies the need we all have or not, & the highly commercial pop music made today doesn't do that.
A monocle walks into a bar. After a few drinks he starts to feel pretty good (and a little uncoordinated). He reaches for a cigarette, but the bartender stops him. "Sorry, buddy, but due to city ordinances we don't allow smoking in here. You'll have to step outside to smoke." So the monocle hops off the bar stool and grabs his cigarettes to head outside. Meanwhile a second monocle emerges from the bathroom. They bump into each other as they cross paths and fall to the floor, hopelessly entangled. They try to get free but the more they struggle, the more tangled they become. The bartender looks down on this travesty and shakes his head. "Hey you two!" he shouts. "Stop making a spectacle out of yourselves!"
Lack of soul in production is killing music. They need to stop quantizing and over compressing. Let's hear the voice crack and the raw power of the guitars.
When I was around 55-60 I started to read reports of people who had interviewed young kids (essentially 10-15 years in age) and asked these kids what music they really liked and which bands they followed. At the time, most of them listed Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and many other similar bands from that same era rather than bands from their own era. Their own musical tastes were much more in line with those of their parents than with their own age group. Asked why they chose the bands/songs they chose, they simply said that the music was better or that they could relate to it easier. These interviews took place in the late 2010s, so the music that was popular back then was far removed from the classic rock that these kids were favoring. VERY encouraging.
I was thinking that a lot of new music seems to be more about the 'vibe' and emphasises that aspect of the music whereas older music feels like it is more about a central melody. So new music has a tendency to sound a bit like the backdrop to an advert - kind of immediately immersive in terms of a particular feeling but ultimately, with little to keep you coming back. I know that's a sweeping generalisation as well but just an observation.
Regarding the formulaic structure you mentioned (verse, chorus, etc) one thing I’ve noticed about a lot of modern Top 40 stuff is the intro to the song is often the chorus. Additionally, they may elect to not include things like a bridge. Which makes the songs seem MORE droning and repetitive, since effectively you’re adding in another chorus ahead of the verse, so you’ve now taken your “ad nauseum” part of the song and made it even MORE so. While I understand starting off with the catchiest parts of the songs, it also makes it that much easier to get tired of those songs for the same reasons.
After lockdowns a lot of people started spending their time getting in to something they never done before. Reaction channels kept popping up, of people reacting to genres they have never even considered before. Viewers get to re experience listening to their favorite song for the first time through the reactor. I think that these reactors and a portion of their audiences who never got in to older songs, have started to buy these records and the original fans of the music have a refreshed interest.
I honestly don't think reaction channels have played that much of a role on people listening to these songs but lockdowns are definitely a big contributing factor to people listening to all kinds of music, not just new music
This is an unfair comparison. New music must compete with a persistently growing catalog (that never shrinks). AND, the catalog has shed itself of its contemporary crap and what's left is curated content. I'm an old dude, but I love many songs from current releases. Thanks for your content!! Cheers.
@@Alicedoesart Anything by Adele or Billie Eilish. They are the real deal. Of course, it will depend on your particular musical tastes, but these two are amazing. Cheers.
@@matthewjamestaylor In the last 20 years I would recommend you Florence + The Machine (first 3 albums are top), The Killers (first 3, last two) Ghost (3,4 and 5th) and Halsey (all 4)
I disagree with you ever so strongly. Modern day jazz, funk, blues and rock gets a lot of deserving attention from the audience that cherished it and younger audiences too. They seem to have outdone their predecessors in taste. No excuse of bigger pre existing catalogues. That's it.
Right I commented something similar before seeing this. How can we even compare a set number of songs to a constantly growing one where only the most known songs/artists are even kept on the platform.. It creates an inevitable paradigm where people will obviously play songs they know better more, but that doesnt mean new music doesnt do well in its own right.
You cannot beat a back catalogue of 70 years of great pop music. But every day new numbers are added. I guess our children will have the same discussion when they are in their 40s PS: love you too.
When living in Tokyo, I circulated with a very active (mostly) electronic musicians who only play live (many times per week) and never record anything. These were not hobbyists, but their reasoning was recorded music is over. While I don't want to agree with them, there is a lot of substance in the idea
It would be interesting to hear you do an analysis of the long term ramifications of the revenue model for music shifting away from album sales and even touring. It seems that most artists are lucky to break even on tours, and even the more well established but not quite mainstream ones might use the entire revenue from one tour to fund the next cycle. This is neither a profitable nor sustainable business model. If the music itself is no longer the actual product, as it has become less of a revenue stream and more of a marketing channel to pipeline customers to buying merchandise, doesn’t this inherently discourage making music for the sake of artistic merit, rather than aiming for widespread mainstream appeal? Furthermore, it would seem that, while the technological barriers to entry are lower than ever before (with the affordability and accessibility of relatively decent quality recording equipment), opportunities for achieving actual success in the music industry are proportionally declining, as the playing field becomes increasingly saturated, thereby making it nearly impossible for the average musician to cut through the noise. Wouldn’t all of these conditions eventually disincentivize truly artistic musicians from pursuing music professionally, leaving a deficit of talent and an excess of, well, glorified TikTokers posing as musicians?
It's always been hard for average musicians to break thru the noise. That's the curse that comes with the benefits of mediocrity, aka average. I'd rather have the very best musicians break thru the noise. Or for local and regional scenes, but good luck with that.
as time goes on the back catalog of everything continues to grow without bounds, the amount of new music is constrained by the number of people bringing it to light - this will approach singularity with the actual total population of those publishing music, and the graph will flatline at our perception of whatever slim fraction we can perceive that's actually beyond mathematics to compute, much less predict; it will seem as if there is NO new music at that point, as a matter of practicality.
I feel that part of the reason for this trend is that major record labels don't want to lose control, and want a sure thing to invest their money (and the shareholders money) in. They have stopped taking chances. You don't see artists or bands, who are self contained unit, because that would give too much control and power away from the record label - that why we don't see artists like Elton John or Prince, or bands like Fleetwood Mac or Queen. Artists this days feel more like a corporate group, where you have 10 songwriters, 5 producers, 10 musicians and the face of it all, who work as individuals. It feel that they do it this way, so they can fire one person, without it affects the group. Therefor giving the label more power. Most great albums have a smaller group behind, who works as a group, and who have been playing together for years. Most legendary bands/artists have 2 - 3 albums behind, before striking gold.
There's still a ton of great music around, but it's harder to find than ever before. Some of the artists mentioned as classic artist are from the 70's. The world population has doubled since then, and the tools to create and showcase music are so much more widely available now that the sheer amount of music, good and bad, is overwhelming.
Agree and this fallacy that repeatedly comes up is that "the good music is out there you just have to look for it bro" like I got shit to do, and there's not even enough years in a human lifetime to listen to all the music out there even if I had nothing to do. What's needed is a fresh and decent new music media so those who aren't musicians but can curate a killer playlist will help people discover and expand their tastes.
That one cool fellow who drank cranberry juice, while skateboarding was listening to DREAMS BY FLEETWOOT MAC :D And i think it played big part in lately success of Rumors. So freaking good album!
Yeah that video went viral so the numbers of streamings exploded and they even appeared on charts world wide because of that. Stevie Nicks reacted to this guy with a video on roller blades I think :D
I used to work at a studio that got many of the American Idol/ Voice singers (runner-ups) trying to make it in the business. What I observed is that they could sing, but you need a lot more in this business to "make" it, like; writing, dancing, performance, business skills, and a hell of a lot of persistence and stamina over many years in order to "make" it. Oh did I mention a ton of LUCK! I noticed that the Beatles spent 7 years performing for thousands of hours before they made it in 63'.
Whoever wrote the perfection / autotune comment nailed it. If you look back the past couple years, the new stuff that really resonated with people had more humanity and real playing. Silk Sonic, billie eilish, adele, even olivia rodrigo
I'm with you, there is stuff out there today that is great, they just aren't pushed enough, they are only heard on college radio or youth radio stations, here in Australia. Commercial radio for decades has played trash. I would still love to see more bands come up, but they just don't get a look in, no one wants to sign them up, take them under their wing and really cultivate their talent, let them do what they want.
My POV as an active musician and obsessed music aficionado is: 1.) the business of music has been around for a while, but as time has progressed, it’s become more business than music; 2.) pop music (aka commercial music) really gets subjectively, progressively worse every time (see point 1 I made); 3.) There’s actually MORE good music now than before… it’s just NOT pop or in-your-face! Thus it’s harder to find than just switching on your radio and having it force fed to you quickly & efficiently the way pop music has always been done. You want to find good music? You’ll need to put in a tad bit of effort to discover it. After all, the most [subjectively] valuable things in life are not easily attainable or abundant (e.g. - gold, wealth, love, climbing mt Everest, walking on the moon … you get the gist) Personally, to me it seems like - and it delights me to see this happening - the labels/radio and all the pesky suits that screwed this up by making this mostly about business (and manipulating things in a negative/artificial way all for the mighty dollar) rather than it being about the music first and foremost (as it should be, naturally), have lost a lot of their power, budget, and sway. And the power and industry has been gradually inclining favorably towards the musicians/artists where it rightfully has ALWAYS belonged. We still have a ways to go though
Could it be survivor bias? Those of us who lived through it remember how much utter shite was on the radio every minute of every day. The record companies have always pushed copycat trash and gimmicks and girls with better looks than sound. Now most of that trash has faded away and what we remember are the cream of the crop.
As a music obsessed teen, the amount of great modern musicians is unequal to how much shit charts on Spotify. There are boring songs on the top 100- stuff by Ed Sheeran, Drake, and Travis- but innovative (at least for My Generation ™) musicians still exist. The problem is dudes like Hawkins or Beato usually won’t search or consider them; Tyler the Creator, Black Midi, BCNR, Frank Ocean, Car Seat Headrest, glass beach- even Kanye, who gets trampled by the media. I listen to lots of 90s and 70s music, and I can safely rank some of these as good as Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, Sonic Youth, and Elliot Smith. you gotta look for them
There's some really good music being made today but most people don't know about it because it's never played on the radio. One of my favorite newer performers is Billy Strings. Billy and his band play a what is basically labeled as Americana or bluegrass but is really a fusion of different genres. They are all virtuoso level musicians who sound even better live than in the studio with amazing song writing ability. They play 150 or more live shows per year and every show is different. They cover everyone from Doc Watson and Johnny Cash to Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull and also have 4 albums of original music. The band recently opened for Metallica at Lollapalooza 2022 and most of the crowd had never heard of them before and we're wondering why a "bluegrass band" was opening for a heavy metal band until Billy and the boys showed them exactly why. You can find a UA-cam video of the entire 1 hour set and also lots of other good songs and shows.
There are way more ways to entertain yourself today than awhile back. I think that definitely plays a role. Also many more artists. So I think with the overload, ppl are just going back to what they know.
Yeah there is more of both as it’s easier to independently distribute music on your own. So there’s much much more shit music out there, but also so much more great music: it’s just more of a search to find it in between all the crap.
Yup, the scene is totally diluted with absolute wank. Anyone with a phone can now make and produce music so the good stuff gets lost in the noise. Also it's all about ME these days, people by and large aren't interested in being in bands anymore which is a real shame. I personally am a big believer in mixing your musical sauce with others ala the Darkness or the Beatles, not being Jimmy Onyourown. And don't even get me started on the musical olympics happening on Instagram. It's entertaining for all of .5 seconds. Write a f*cking song!
I think it's also fair to say that people are more used to curating the music they listen to and consuming it on demand. Rick Beato made the interesting point that all pop music is predicated on a hook or a single phrase repeated ad nauseum so it's less about writing something that stands out, more about making something vaguely catchy that people won't turn off.
@@davidgomersall7185 Yeah and they've worn that hook idea right out. It's like the cute puppy videos on Instagram. Cute at first but after 50,000 you just want to punch the little fucker
Alan Cross is a radio legend around Toronto. His curated shows on CFNY back in the day or his over-nights were great musical journeys. The Ongoing History of New Music - great stuff lost in time.
Congratulations, on quitting smoking! One of the few things I retained from a college psychology class was, “it takes three weeks to make a habit, and three weeks to break one.” When I quit, I had that goal in my mind. I quit “cold-turkey”. Step one, quit sticking things in my face and lighting them on fire. Step two, repeat step one every day for three weeks. That was 1997 for me. You only have 19 days to go!
New original live music died a death where I live due to dwindling venues and the resulting drop in audiences, all it takes is one or two venues no longer booking bands to strangle a small scene. Basically - keep supporting local live music whenever you can.
I listened to currently charting music on Spotify on shuffle and after a solid 2 hours didn’t hear a SINGLE song I wanted to hear again. Music now, like everything else, has become cheap and disposable. Far less love is invested at the listener’s end - where is the big vinyl record in a big sleeve you can touch and read over and over and look at and know off by heart. It’s as much a tactile experience as an auditory one. Without video clips we had our ears and our imagination, none of that is required now. Buying an album was a big deal. You’d listen to the whole thing over and over and get to know it intimately, forwards and backwards. Now if you don’t like the first few seconds you can flick a song and go to the next one. Albums were whole journeys. Now albums are rarely a cohesive body of work and nobody has the commitment or care to know the whole album rather than the ‘hits’.
I was hearing my own heart beat whilst laying on my pillow a couple of nights ago at the same time I could hear a really nice piano beat in my head I quickly realised with every heart beat the piano hit a single note and created a really strong emotional resonance for this track. This showed me why music is bad these days because people are valued for their jobs and material wealth and nobody cares about what the soul can create. Building your soul and creating good music are becoming lost artforms in our modern age.
Hey Justin. Love that you name checked Alan Cross. He's a music/DJ legend here in Canada. Highly recommend his Ongoing History of New Music series to geek out over. Also: my OCD is going bananas over your dangling mic cord. Please, please tidy that up.
While I live in Australia - 'rock' music has for almost 20 years hasn't been given the 'radio airplay' on mainstream networks like it used to be prior to 'grunge' trend. Since that time grunge, nu-metal, dub, hip-hop, alternative, grindcore metal have become the popular music in Australia and friends living in the US and Europe have said the same has happened so after 2 decades, people - especially younger people are discovering 'ROCK' music via the social media platforms and hearing their parents music! From what I can see, Europe seems to be getting into rock music again, in 2021 an Italian glam-rock band won Eurovision so that definitely has made people take notice again, my 9 year old daughter loves bands like Aerosmith, Ratt, Primal Fear, Scorpions, Roadkill (possibly a little bias lol) among others! The sudden new interest in popularity of artists like: Kate Bush, Journey and Metallica was via TV shows, which is how most of the bands from the 80's became successful via MTV and other video shows so if the industry - be it: radio, magazines, websites, video shows - start pushing/playing rock music again, then old and NEW artists in the genre will have success! Look at the recent festivals in Europe, they're not filled with just over 40 year old people, there are plenty of the younger generations attending these BIG festivals too!
3:56 can you do a video where you just say “number 9” over and over? Really happy to have found your channel! You’re sharing wisdom that sits at the core of music as art.
Another aspect is the Lyrical content. A lot of songs have a strong narrative and/or emotional connection to the listener. You can identify with or at least understand the 'story' in the lyrics and/or have experienced similar emotional feelings. A lot of modern music is 'vacuous' and emotionally flat. I know that not all song lyrics 'need' to have some depth, but if the Lyrics don't have anything 'interesting' to really say then you need something 'interesting' musically - not the same 3/4 chords playing throughout in the 'same' rhythmic pattern with barely any 'dynamic' or 'tempo' changes... To me, modern music is so 'beige', so empty, vacuous and bland. Older music is like a Kaleidoscope forming an infinite amount of colourful imagery in your mind, it takes you on a 'journey' and you really feel it through every sense of your body. Like a good book that paints the imagery in your mind, makes you feel the way the character(s) feel, it transports you into that world, Old music has a similar impact - you can close your eyes and see the story playout, feel the emotions etc...
I think youve hit the nail on the head. The most recent things on my playlist Ive added have been 2 prog metal songs that talk about dealing with addiction and fighting it. I didnt get anything like that from any pop stuff. A third is a sort of melodic thing that lyrically, talks about losing a close friend that made you a better person. All 3 been on repeat. But aside from that, I actually got into Wet Leg (wasnt too keen at first) because although the lyrics didnt have some insane meaning behind them, the comments were people talking about how fun they were. Music should conjure an emotion in some way - could be anything, platitude, happiness, a good old cry to clean the systen out - anything. Pop music is a processed, unseasoned chicken nugget when it should be a beautifully prepared Korean BBQ (loose metaphor but stay with me) - its just....there. it doesnt *hit*, it doesnt make you feel, its just background noise
"A lot of modern music is 'vacuous' and emotionally flat." and a lot of "old" music was as well. There's plenty of great new music around, and the really great thing is that it's easier than ever to find it.
@@andygolborne5747 Whilst I will agree that quite a few 'older' songs were often flat and vacuous, they didn't generally stand the test of time. Musically speaking, most were more 'interesting' than just using just straight chords with little/no tempo or dynamic variation. The difference between the 80's for example and today is that 'commercial' music, the music that you heard on Radio, TV, Chart shows etc was much more mixed. You could have Guns N Roses, AC/DC etc in the charts alongside the Police, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, Frakie goes to Hollywood, Madonna etc etc. The songs were the 'voice' of their generation, speaking out on things they were concerned with - politics, wars, drugs, love etc. Yes you can find 'new' music that has a message, that has depth etc but its not 'easier' because you have to go 'looking' for it. In the past, it was 'everywhere' because it was on Radio, TV etc. Now, you have to go down rabbit holes on Spotify, youtube, instagram or tictoc, trying to find 'something' that isn't the vacuous commercial crap that is so 'beige' with 'nothing' to say (nothing to be controversial, offensive, political etc). In the 80's, we had music magazines, some with 'free tapes, vinyl etc and of course, by going out to gigs, festivals etc, you'd also get introduced to new bands. Walking into music shops too would also introduce you to 'new' music - often the latest record(s) would be playing and you could often get to hear 'new' records in store before buying too...
@@BAMozzy69 "The songs were the 'voice' of their generation, speaking out on things they were concerned with - politics, wars, drugs, love etc. " and the songs today are the voice of this generation - speaking to the "kids of today" about the same things. We older people might not understand them, same as our parents didn't understand our era music. I think we look back at out musical golden eras with rose tinted glasses. For every Police , AC/DC (you sound the same era as me... :-) ) there was a whole load of dross in the pop charts. What was "everywhere" was generally commercial shit, and buying those early Police, XTC singles or AC/DC albums you were always in a minority. "Now, you have to go down rabbit holes on Spotify". Not at all. I really find Spotify a joy for new music and the more I listen to varied stuff the more it offers me. Other people's play lists are also a great thing - that's the equivalent of going to someone else's house and listening to their records.. And you can listen before you but to your heart's content. "...and of course, by going out to gigs, festivals etc, you'd also get introduced to new bands." and this of all things absolutely happens today. Live music is incredibly successful. There are more festivals , big and small, these days than ever and masses of gigs by all sized bands. Bands actually need to play live more these days to make money so everyone's a winner. The "kids" at the couple of festivals we've been to this year could not have been more receptive to all sorts of stuff, as well as being knowledgeable about the bands they had come to see. There are great modern musicians with plenty to say to this generation. They are very lucky. Same as we were.
Started smoking at 15 and continued for twenty years...it's hard.. I really enjoyed it but I didn't realize how bad it made me felt until I had stopped. It's been ten years on the other side of it now and there are still rare moments when I crave it..but I remember how shitty it made me feel and that keeps me in check. Good luck man!
New York to San Francisco - an intercity disco. Congrats on quitting the smokes, hope you manage to keep it up. I smoked for 33 years and quit in 2018. It’s been great for my overall health and stamina, but particularly for my voice. I can’t remember when, if ever, the instrument was this versatile and nuanced. When I started singing I’d already been a smoker for a number of years. Good luck with the channel, it’s great late night entertainment.
My total, unprofessional, no degree, pulled outta my ass theory - its depression. The world's mental health tanked hard during covid, and when youre depressed, you go with something familiar. So people will be listening to stuff from when it wasnt perceived to be so shit. I have no base for this hypothesis, other than I also suffer and I'll be honest, even finding this channel and thinking "Oh shit, its Justin from the Darkness!" And Ive binged the stuff because its a familiar face to me (Kerrang heyday anyone? Damn those were the days) People dont seem to like new music because its unfamiliar. Look at Mr Brightside, its never left the UK charts. The world is suffering, and someone singing about all the money they have (not just rap these days) and its just a kick in the teeth Anyway, thanks for this Justin, it needed to be said, and thanks to anyone who suffered through my TED talk ❤️
I always use the food analogy you put in the end: Fast Food can be nice once in a while. It is however shallow, made for mass consumption and not very nutritious. The art of making a more complex, nutritious meal takes time, practice, thinking. It's therefore more expensive to make and that will cost you more to eat. Unfortunately the industry is not interested in that anymore and wants a quick buck. Studios are closing and we're force-fed fast food through radio, spotify playlists and UA-cam algos. Brilliant to see some young people are not having that and want substance. Unfortunately contemporary artists can't have the time or resources to perfect that art anymore, so the only way for the general crowd to get substance is by going back. Luckily people can record more at home and make brilliant stuff off the radar, but it's hard to find for most when Streaming services have the new Harry Styles on autoplay when you startup, eventhough apparently no one wants to hear that. And it won't be a big production. Studios and artists that could make a big production are resorting to UA-cam to make a living by offering Mix-tutorials or Patreons (no disrespect meant at all) to keep their heads above the water. And those are people that had a headstart in the sense that they used to make a living off of music before and are well known. Very tough if you are a musician these days. Having a dayjob and 1 hour a day to perfect your art is a lot less hours to be brilliant than the hours the people before the 2000s could put in
Even though it's a little old at this point, I feel like you can't ignore that fact that the Rumours was turned into a pretty easy, clean meme. The combination of a lot of young and sheltered people getting exposed to music through their memes, and the fact that it happens to be a song from fucking Rumours, makes it easy to continue to sell.
Here's an idea: With more of the workforce staying home and not commuting, they're not tuning into the radio, and therefore not being bombarded by whatever iHeartMedia, Cumulus, or whatever other radio conglomerate you'd care to choose. Plus, the flip side of all this is that the back catalogue of the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, etc. has plenty of mediocre tracks and one-hit wonders, they just didn't stand the test of time. I took a road trip recently, and happened to tune into a radio station which was re-broadcasting one of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 shows. And sure, there were plenty of 80's stalwarts that I stll hear today. But there's also really bad, weird, dated songs that virtually no modern listener would remember. My point here is that old music has an immense survivors bias. Everyone's heard Mozart, but very few could hum even a bar of the works of most of his contemporaries.
The best concert I have ever seen was the Bath Festival of Blues on Saturday 28 June 1969. I still have the programme, too many acts to list here, but here are some Fleetwood Mac, John Mayal, Ten Years After, Nice, and Led Zeppelin. Ah those really were the days. Old age, I forgot the L in Mayall.
Nailed it. Confidence confidence confidence. It's called music "THEORY" not music LAW. There IS no right or wrong way......does it sound good or not? That is All that matters. But then there's EGO. LET IT ALL GO FOLKS! This rock we live on & the universe in which it travels, needs every single note & rhythm we can create. I would much rather have a garage band, than a bedroom studio. However, with today's mindset, my bedroom studio is the only way I can make music...alone & boring. All because people are scared they're not good enough, OR, they think they can do it all better & don't want to share the results of success. A solo artist still needs a band, & notes are only divided by your brain. Collaborate, bounce ideas, & play "wrong" notes. We might just make the next new thing......TOGETHER. Somewhere in the gray area between insecurity & absolute caulkiness, lies genius, or perhaps clerisy. There, Rant complete. Thank you mister Hawkins! you rock & your channel is 🔥 awesome. Tribute concert was epic! You were great! Now I'm out........✌️💚🤘 #billywaylls @billywaylls
Thanks for calling a spade a spade. The new music isn’t that great. I for one, a front of house sound engineer for the same act now for over a decade, am very let down when I work for the occasional one-off a-lister and all they want to do is talk about their fucking 3 minute song for 12 minutes. There’s no show anymore. When I saw you guys near St Louis back on April 1st (I think the date was right), ya’ll we’re fucking brilliant. You had a show. The act I work for, took the day off to cater my bachelor party which culminated in us turning up at your gig and we were happily entertained! So thanks for that! Getting back to the new music, I truly feel like artists are in a hurry and foolishly rush post production. Anyhow, I love these little segments! Come back to America. Would happily turn up at another gig! Cheers!
Just a quick follow up - congratulations on beginning your no smoking journey. It takes awhile, but the irritability doesn’t last forever. Food actually begins tasting good again after about six weeks.
Kate Bush: according to David (GIlmour), the record company couldn't find a producer to work with her that they liked the result and were going to ditch her. David stepped back in and said, "put her with the guy that I put her with in the first place, you know, the one that did the stuff with her that you liked." They did, and it did.
The last real rock revolution was in the early 90s. That gave just enough fuel to help inspire other subgenres of rock for about 10 years or so. There are still great bands like Hum, Deftones, Tool, Failure, but they're all getting older. There are no Kurt Cobains, no self-destructive frontmen with unspoken amounts of talent, no spokesmen for a generation anymore. Once the 2010s hit, it was all over. We've hit a cultural wall and only crap has taken over the airwaves
People just need to turn their attention to the music scene in Japan for real quality in new music. BAND-MAID, Nemophila, Garcharic Spin, Asterism, Lovebites to just name a few in the rock music scene of various genres. Technically amazing musicians, talented vocalists, great live performances usually even better than what's recorded in the studio. Rock is alive and doing well there
Past few years has been a case of me coming across great older music that I have missed purely because it was not in the mainstream, Cardiacs was my biggest example cannot believe they were not bigger though I do have a vague memory of maybe seeing the song Day is Gone on Mtv late night late back when they did show some lesser known stuff. I tend to find the newer stuff I like is not the stuff that gets the massive airplay
There's this line from the preview of the new Disney Pinocchio where the fox is telling Pinocchio, "Why would you want to be real when you can be famous?" And I thought, 'that explains so much of modern culture.'
Because artists don't need labels so much nowadays I think that the sheer oversaturation of new music can be overwhelming to people. Also, for new artists to be recognised it's all about getting songs featured on Spotify / Amazon music playlists and making songs with catchy moments that are shareable on social media sites like Tik Tok, so newer artists get known for one or two individual songs, rather than a back catalogue of masterfully composed music.
You can create a playlist based on your own taste & on suggestions based on algorithms, which are calculated based on your listening patterns. Seeing as streaming allows access to a wide spectra of music based on the above, a lot of people are poasibly 'sonic tasting' everything with far more ease than in days of yore; if you can listen & skip with ease, then the desire to wade through more than a minute of a track patiently becomes a non-starter. Couple that with some creative licensing on all visual platforms, who themselves are coming up with sticky content at a rapid rate, then what used to be 'where's that album i haven't heard anywhere in years?' becomes a goldmine for sync useage, and consequently streaming, donwloads & buying. MTV was meant to provide a visual platform for all artists, to help sales abd publicity. Now the visual content is at the forefront, so the music supervisor (s) are potentially shaping thousands, if not millions of people's tastes. Plus Ca Change; the gatekeepers are there, as is everything else. Only the delivery mechanisms have changed; there's more ways to get your music than ever before.
Like literature achieved thousands of years ago, recorded music has lifetimes of content now available. When that happens classics become the most reliable source of "quality". But don't worry, the pendulum ALWAYS swings back (& forth).
"Never had a live gig" Brings to mind Susan Vega who wrote her early songs playing live songs in (I believe) a lounge bar. Because it was close to the record company she wanted to sign with. I'm pretty sure "Tom's Diner" was written there, and it's about the local neighborhood there.
I wonder if the proliferation of virtuoso instrumentalists on platforms like youtube and tiktok might be a hidden factor as well. When you see what all these young shredders and bangers who care about their craft can do with their instruments, it might suddenly becomes a lot more interesting than production-based pop music.
It's the other way around. Why limit yourself to a small selection of tools (instruments) when you can make sound out of anything now?? People my age now are getting a DAW and experimenting with production rather than limiting themselves to one or two 'real' instruments.
I think a lot of new music is factory produced in a way it just wasn't in the 80s and 90s. Both Queen and Kate Bush are pretty good examples of artists that were allowed to throw paint at the canvas and sell it whichever way it splashed. Artists get pushed toward marketing trends these days which is disappointing because it's innovation that sets new trends, not following what's worked before.
@@PaulMappud Well yes but there's plenty of talent still out there. Is it being picked up? Is it being allowed to be experimental like they were? I'm not so sure.
@@MissMdubs : I don't think being allowed comes into it, I believe they wanted to give and it came from the heart, the money was important yes but it was their art that truly mattered, (this is why nobody can do a good Freddie Mercury impersonation, everyone does a "look at me I'm great" he didn't do that he did it "for" the audience) Dido has it, Paul Heaton has it, Muse have it , that bird from Texas has it, they are Stars with something to give.
11:34 Ah, yes indeed. We've come full circle Mr. Hawkins. Where the Venga Boys were concerned, I could sense the clandestine love that simmered quietly in your heart when, in one of your previous videos, you dared to speak ill of Europe's greatest export since the Rubik's Cube. I doff my cap to you and your belated admission that sometimes you just want to climb aboard, put your feet up and let the Vengabus take you for a groovy ride.
Physical sales meant there was an imperative to sell 'new' albums. Now it's completely digitised it's different. Also a global homogenization of culture means new music lacks cultural significance. We no longer see geographical gestation (Seattle etc...) which allow bands to develop and grow (and thus increase in quality) etc... lots of reasons
Good day Mister Hawkins, thanks for the great videos, and thanks for and gave us a glance on how a musician / multi awarded mind works, my question, if you allow me of course, is, what do you think about the article you just mentioned over this video, do the new generations are afraid of failure? Or technology just make us lazier to go outside and interact with people (the article mentioned that some groups released music without played any gigs) Saludos desde Mexico!
I've just recently got into the 70s band 'City Boy'. Absolutely amazing band and better than anything in the charts today. But hardly got a look in back then.
I’ve purchased two new cars in my life. 2006 and 2021. The 2006 got the radio stations programmed before we left the lot. The 2021 has never had the AM/FM button pushed.
I went to the store yesterday and there's a 20-year-old kid working there that knows the lyrics toJefferson Starship songs that I don't even know all the lyrics and I've seen them in concert in the 80s. although, I was in no condition to memorize any lyrics in 1980s not Jefferson Starship anyway. Kate Bush was discovered and quietly co-produced by David Gilmore. She was with very good company.
"surprised face" lol ...old records have a swing, a heartbeat...todays music (not all, before someone starts that...) is grided, pro-tooled and computer perfected which removes the human elements that makes music magical and diminishes the swing that people unknowingly vibrate to. It creates a sterile output that doesn't resonate with peoples souls.
Human beings are very attuned to the effect of timeless music. It’s often provocative, personal and relatable. To have a song resonate with you as if someone is saying the words or cultivating emotions that you struggled to find. I’m going through a pretty dark depression currently and as I was driving around the other day I was listening to “Kiss Off” from the Violent Femmes and when he starts starts the counting parts, I realized Gordon Gano was depressed as fuck when he wrote these. 1- ‘cause you left me, 2 for my family, 3 for my heartache, 4 for my headache, 5 for my lonely, 6 for my sorrow, 7 no tomorrow, 8 (I forget what 8 was for), 9 for the lost god, 10 for everything. Damn
For me, music began falling apart when rap started to become huge. So, I would say, at the beginning of the 90s. I kept listening to my favorite artists but hardly ever listened to something new that appealed to me.
Hi Justin, Last week I was having a clear out and discovered my CD single of Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It’s Christmas. I was wondering if you had any amusing anecdotes about the day(s) you and Dan were in the studio recording the song/filming the video. I think it’s an interesting snapshot of music in the UK at the time and it’s interesting to see how many artists like yourselves have stood the test of time and are still around today!
Its just that old music makes you FEEL something, most of new music just souds good but it lacks of soul and autenticity. I think its not always the fault of the artists, sometimes they have the talent and do the work but is the over production of the tracks that strips the songs of their original spirit. The labels are making the wrong bet i guess.
The problem is everything sounds likes it’s recorded on the same systems now. Pop on a Fleetwood Mac album, or one by Genesis, or Queen and they’re all so diverse. Today, every guitar, drums and production sound the same. It’s sterile and you lose interest before the first song ends.
I think we've spoiled ourselves. We desire everything good to be immediately available without any sort of effort. It doesn't work that way with today's music, especially with the sheer volume of it. You actually have to explore the genre you enjoy so much and branch out into other subgenres, or observe your favourite artist's inspirations and go back on the time line and see how else was inspired by said person. You have to dig deep to find music that resonates with the individual, but I feel like a lot of people would rather bring up tiktok and watch funny videos than dig through the massive volume of music to find new tunes. Just depends on the person I suppose, sorry for ranting.
Dude yeah most new music blows chunks. You have to dig HARD to find really great new music. At least for me but I’m a rock, alt rock, goth rock, even metal/hard rock fan and none of this is in fashion so keep diggin!!
I think the pandemic changed people’s mentality. We were locked up and bored and two things happened. First - due to the trauma we gravitated towards things we knew and were comfortable with. And second, people want an outlet to express both their anger at the world and their deep desire to have fun. A lot of current music isn’t doing that, either thematically, and especially dynamically. There seems to be a movement back towards music that sounds more “real” and organic, as well as music that has those large dynamic changes from the 90s.
We made two imperfect as all get out albums and I'm damn proud of them. You can't be that sloppy on purpose. There is lots of good new rock music out there. I like The Chats a lot.
My two penn'orth worth on the algorithm argument. When Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, and all those other catalogue artists the algorithm wasn’t a computer deciding what you should or could be listening. It was Radio disc jockey (or DJ) who was curating and playing the new releases, promoting and encouraged listeners to find new and exciting artists. Great VID 👍
There is an amazing amout of good new or young artists in rock, metal, prog and blues. Most are having to do the things the hard way. No money from labels etc. Then folks don't buy stuff but listen to playlists on streaming channels. What annoys the shit out of me are those who whinge that there is "nothing good out there... where's the next AC/DC or G n R?" and who never actually go out to a music venue (those smaller venues where talented bands and artists can be found) or smaller festivals which feature newer artists. If they don't actually get off their fat arses they aren't going to find great new bands and eventually those bands will end up giving up as they can't feed families with the money coming in. Recently I had the pleasure of being at Call Of The Wild Festival in England and enjoyed 3 and a half days of music by newer performers. Bloody great weekend. In talking to some of the bands at the event I can say that many of them are working their asses off and doing all the sorts of things to get noticed they can. Some spend more than they earn because they love music and want to create good new music.
its because most people who claim to have "good taste" only got It through listening to the radio and what was shoved in their face much the same as the average listener of mainstream radio. the only difference is one isn't claiming to have a superior music taste due to their insecurities
I haven't smoked in four years and it's great to be free of the burden of that addiction, you'll do it Justin. Every day you will feel better. Good Luck!
Yes I think the ‘too much choice’ (over-saturated market) is part of the issue. But I think the main reason the ‘new music industry’ is not performing is because music doesn’t have to be new, it just has to be NEW TO YOU. And this is what the likes of Spotify does. It opens up a whole new world of music to people, even though the music itself is not necessarily ‘new’.
It depends on how you class “current” music. If you define it as new break out artists, then I pretty much agree with everything listed in the article. Those new artists seem to pop up out of nowhere to the height of fame based on one overly manufactured and mediocre single that becomes a hit because of being played ad nauseum on the TV, radio and social media. Meanwhile, established bands and artists are relegated almost to obscurity where only avid fans and followers can find them. As an example, if it weren’t for this channel, I wouldn’t have known that Paolo Nutini or The Gorillaz have new albums out and they are established artists that I greatly enjoy. Isn’t that current music too? I can’t imagine going to see an artist perform without a live band behind them as so many new artists seem to do, for me it would completely defeat the object. I believe wholeheartedly that the ability to play instruments live, individually or as a band will always be respected. And of course older bands are regaining popularity. These are household names who everyone knows and enjoys, and as we are sadly witnessing the demise of the CD, perhaps the increase in streaming and downloads is more a sign of the times than any real change in what people are listening to. Fleetwood Mac, Queen, The Eagles, Kate Bush and so many others are artists that anyone born before the Millennium are going to actively seek out, and I’m glad that Gen Z are discovering them too. It’s just great music isn’t it? P.S. Congratulations on two days smoke free Justin! Your lungs will love you for it in the long run! Keep it up, you got this! 🥰
Keep in mind that as time moves on, the amount of music that qualifies as ‘catalog’ keeps increasing. When I was a kid in the 80’s…catalog music was about 30 years back to the 50’s. Now catalog music goes back 60-70 years.
Hi Justin, I'm a fan from Malaysia (now living in the UK) and I really enjoy watching your videos. From my personal experiences, I spent half of my teenage years in Malaysia. Me and my classmates would all rather dug into Zeppelin, Purple, Sabbath, Hendrix, Queen, Aerosmith, Nirvana, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, KISS and many other iconic acts from the 60s-90s rather than contemporary artists (although there's a few good ones). Same thing here in the UK. I think it's because the songs are meaningful and relatable to the listener, unlike most songs these days.
Good to see someone else mention greta van fleet. The lead singer in my opinion has a voice that could match the greats. The lead guitarist also won guitarist of the year. Their latest album feels new like a style that we haven’t seen. Awesome to see them tour with Metallica also !
“New music is shit” do you listen to new music? If you don’t then how would you know? I’m a huge rock fan and there’s so much great modern rock. Greta Van Fleet is pretty boring to me, because it sounds like I’ve already heard it before. Good modern rock should sound unique in my opinion, Måneskin, Idles, Turnstile, Royal Blood, Fontaine’s DC., The Chats, Ghost, Nothing But Thieves, The Warning, The Pretty Reckless, The Backseat Lovers, You Me At Six, Rival Sons, Dirty Honey, IDKHOW, The Oral Cigarettes, Anti-Flag, The Blue Stones, Reignwolf, The Struts, Palaye Royale, The Mountain Goats, and most of all, King Gizzard. That’s what modern rock is and it’s great.
The old music was made by People, new music is made by corporations. It's been turned into a product where its about making a thing to sell in wall-mart over making a thing to express a idea, feeling or telling a story.
New metal music is waaaaaaaaay too complex, bunch of dudes creating a 6 minute avalanche of notes.I also think technology has taken audio productions into a place, where it is almost unpleasant for the ears and brain :)
There's a lot of great music in the world...and more is released every year. It's not that new music is crap, that's a view that's been held by every generation since the popular music charts began and it's never really been true, it's that the majority of chart success comes from industry backing and the industry only has an eye for commercial success over artistic integrity. Since the birth of the internet, however, the industry has lost an enormous amount of it's grip over musical consumption. UA-cam means that a listener has access to whatever genre takes their fancy at any time. Bandcamp gives an enormous catalogue of independent artists free to experiment without commercial pressures. Given the amount of choice available to a young consumer, the charts should be seen as much less important than they ever were before.
As an old git I have heard and sometimes seen all sorts of groups from when The Stones were the back up group. To me most modern stuff sounds computer generated. Lyrics are minimal and repetative and in general its all uninspriring. Then I discovered the Japanese music scene which includes a very healthy rock and heavy metal sections. Listen to Band Maid amongst the most creative rock bands ever and have talent off the scale and Lovebites brilliantly clever heavy metal. Japanese talent is way above the west. Band Maid (5) includes 3 pianists to concert level and are lead by a genius lead guitar/composer. Their knowledge of musical theory is outstanding whereas many western musicians can read music at all. There is no comparison, Give them a try.
I actually suggest you to control even the musical scenario of nowadays. Just know _where_ to control. For example this year there's been "Light For Attracting Attention" from the Smile which is an awesome album (probably because anything made by Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke sounds awesome)
>Then I discovered the Japanese music +. this scene saved my musical world. Rly the last hope the only good that the west scene can made today is new old-fashioned things, lul
Looking very natty in that jacket, Justin. I hope you’ve been able to keep up the no cigs rule, but if not, don’t worry, we have every faith you can try again and succeed!
Young people are finding old music somehow. Via t.v. shows, tiktoks, or relatives. I made my nephew fall in love with King Crimson after showing him dozens of artists he didn't care for, King Crimson was the one that clicked with him. Later it was Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, NIN, A Perfect Circle, Pink Floyd, etc. I tried with younger Facebook acquaintances, succeeded with some (a few years ago I made a teenager fall in love with Kate Bush so now that Running Up the Hill is hitting the big time again, she feels ecstatic, she's no longer alone), some others didn't care but eventually they listened to my recommendations due to peers already picking up that music. It's up to the older generations to show the youngsters the keys to Heaven before we croak. It's a worthy goal. P. S. UA-cam reaction channels are also, and probably one of the most influential mediums to spread awareness of great music right now (not just music but also movies). The YT algorithm is doing something right. The vinyl resurgence is also a huge factor, youngsters are experiencing physical media, and getting truly involved, immersed in the experience of truly listening to music. A time and a place to appreciate it. People are hungry for real experiences, real emotions. Hedonism is wearing old.
The music industry is still fairly young, but it's no longer competing as a popular form of entertainment. Attention spans are shorter than ever, and popular media is so much more visual, brief, and intense now. People are used to being stimulated almost non-stop now, for better or for worse. The fact that "catalogue" music is so much more popular is telling; it means people are going to their "safe space" when they listen to music -- songs that are familiar, and that they've heard a thousand times. Basically "mailing it in" as a music listener. The music itself has always been a loss leader, so nothing new there -- the difference is, these days, the upper echelon in the music biz doesn't need the music to be timeless, or memorable; they just gotta get the spins and get those ads jammed in there, so that as soon as people are sick of that one, the next recyclable marketing vehicle comes out to replace it. The days of this universal source (radio) driving physical sales of musical media are over. Even physical touring is in flux right now, and it remains to be seen how necessary it will even be, especially when the top 90% of music being listened to is by artists that may/may not even be alive. I don't want this to sound cynical -- quite the contrary. I think the true artists are going to do what they do, anyhow, and there's never been a better time to be an indie musician.
There has always been a direct correlation between popular tv shows and music popularity. I’m not that surprised at the influx of popularity of older music.
What we are seeing is people are not buying what is being pushed on them. Why private businesses are trying to sell people music that isn't popular is a mystery to me.
Good luck on the smoking cessation. I am currently heading towards my 4th year cigarette free. I still think about how glorious one may taste, but have stayed true. I’m sure you will experience positive results.
Join me over in my happy place: www.patreon.com/jushawk
Well done on giving up the cigs Jus. Watch that rock-star waistline though!
Congrats on not smoking! You got this!🙌
Never thought I'd hear the venga boys on your channel 😆
as time goes on the back catalog of everything continues to grow without bounds, the amount of new music is constrained by the number of people bringing it to light - this will approach singularity with the actual total population of those publishing music, and the graph will flatline at our perception of whatever slim fraction we can perceive that's actually beyond mathematics to compute, much less predict; it will seem as if there is NO new music at that point, as a matter of practicality.
as usual I blame the internet
I “came of age” in the late 70s and early 80s, and believe me, there was endless crap in the pop music of the day. One thing he said strikes me. That there is now a huge back catalog of “good stuff”. In 1975 we had a little over 10 years of good modern recorded music to draw on. Now we have 50+ years, all available instantly.
I see your point. There's definitely a survivorship bias here. The timeless stuff endures because it was that good, but everyone forgets about all the terrible stuff that came out as well.
yes great point. Every year there is more and more available.... new audiences don't miss out on the old. Of course kids in the 70's will not have much selection from the 30's/40's. This trend just makes sense and it's not only to do with the music quality.
Yes, this back catalogue is indeed growing and the internet increased accessability immensely. One shouldn't restrict oneself to a certain time period, because there has been good music throughout all these decades.
1976 - 1996 The Gloden Years
1996 the year that Music, TV, Films & Theatre all seem to have died - 21st Century has seen the decimation in all of those arenas.
@Jeff Fogel - True, but on these platforms we can find independent talented people not the selected, groomed and placed talentless who were created by the powers that shouldn't be for their New World of Talentless bottomend Mediocracy flooded across their MSM.
My 17 year old daughter listens to everything from Queen to The Cure. Nine Inch Nails to Ministry. Bowie, Nina Simone, Kate Bush, Dylan, Depeche Mode etc. From what I have seen a lot of teenagers are now going back and checking out older music.
Put her on to some black midi I beg best band going right now 🙏🙏
@@mcride1242 I’ll tell her to check them out. Always good to hear something new.
I grew up on classic rock...AND Depeche Mode. Awesome. My favourites right now are Band-Maid...all about the songs...I've never cared about image, just honest artists.
@@philproffitt8363 I love Depeche Mode too. Great live.
You are lucky your kid has good taste in music, certainly not the norm among young people
I think part of the issue is that we're hitting a technological plateau when it comes to music. Heavy metal guitars were new and exciting in the 70s. Synths made massive strides between the 60s and 80s. There are a few cool things happening with software synthesizer, especially free and budget options, but not much that really sounds significantly different from 10 years ago.
And it's getting worse it seems. Because there is no recording budget, metalbands for a very large part resort to Neural DSP plugins. Making it sound even less different.
Agree
@@skeletonmodel I won't part with money for badly recorded bands. Latest CDs I've bought are by Band-Maid...no corners cut in the studio...proper gear played with talent.
And you only hear 4 chords now
Got nothing to do with it. Rock & Roll & Hip Hop never hinged on that stuff. It's about whether it connects with people in a certain way that satisfies the need we all have or not, & the highly commercial pop music made today doesn't do that.
A monocle walks into a bar. After a few drinks he starts to feel pretty good (and a little uncoordinated). He reaches for a cigarette, but the bartender stops him. "Sorry, buddy, but due to city ordinances we don't allow smoking in here. You'll have to step outside to smoke."
So the monocle hops off the bar stool and grabs his cigarettes to head outside. Meanwhile a second monocle emerges from the bathroom. They bump into each other as they cross paths and fall to the floor, hopelessly entangled. They try to get free but the more they struggle, the more tangled they become.
The bartender looks down on this travesty and shakes his head. "Hey you two!" he shouts. "Stop making a spectacle out of yourselves!"
Fuck sake why didn't I see that coming. I'm so disappointed in myself 😭
@@ReprobateMind same here 😖👍
My friend's in love with two school bags,he's bi satchel....I'll get me coat
Well, I didn’t expect to find this in the comments. That put a big smile on my face, thanks!
I hate this so much.... Take an upvote!
Lack of soul in production is killing music. They need to stop quantizing and over compressing. Let's hear the voice crack and the raw power of the guitars.
Exactly. And don't forget about everything being recorded to a click! The best music expands and contracts.
Spot on!
@@gringochucha yeah...gimme some White Stripes 👍
It’s like Pandora’s Box being opened as a musician, though. It’s hard to play honest when you can press a button and sound closer to perfect.
@@Augrills the mistakes are what make music what it is
When I was around 55-60 I started to read reports of people who had interviewed young kids (essentially 10-15 years in age) and asked these kids what music they really liked and which bands they followed. At the time, most of them listed Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and many other similar bands from that same era rather than bands from their own era. Their own musical tastes were much more in line with those of their parents than with their own age group. Asked why they chose the bands/songs they chose, they simply said that the music was better or that they could relate to it easier. These interviews took place in the late 2010s, so the music that was popular back then was far removed from the classic rock that these kids were favoring. VERY encouraging.
i remember me thinking rumours was a greatest hits album as a kid and being shocked to find it was a normal album as a adult.
This was the better album…ua-cam.com/users/shortstN96nXo9cj8?feature=share
Ha! I did the same with the best of the beatles!
Me with Journey and Duran Duran
Same with Nevermind, there hasn’t been an album like that (in rock at least) like that.
I thought this with Eagles’ Hotel California
I was thinking that a lot of new music seems to be more about the 'vibe' and emphasises that aspect of the music whereas older music feels like it is more about a central melody. So new music has a tendency to sound a bit like the backdrop to an advert - kind of immediately immersive in terms of a particular feeling but ultimately, with little to keep you coming back. I know that's a sweeping generalisation as well but just an observation.
I think Rumours is doing so well because a few songs from it went viral on TikTok. As one of my favourite albums I love to see it
Regarding the formulaic structure you mentioned (verse, chorus, etc) one thing I’ve noticed about a lot of modern Top 40 stuff is the intro to the song is often the chorus. Additionally, they may elect to not include things like a bridge. Which makes the songs seem MORE droning and repetitive, since effectively you’re adding in another chorus ahead of the verse, so you’ve now taken your “ad nauseum” part of the song and made it even MORE so. While I understand starting off with the catchiest parts of the songs, it also makes it that much easier to get tired of those songs for the same reasons.
Most don't have a bridge.
I very briefly dated a girl that would play the first 20-30 seconds of Nickelback tunes.
Yep. It's just a hook repeated over and over and over again.
After lockdowns a lot of people started spending their time getting in to something they never done before. Reaction channels kept popping up, of people reacting to genres they have never even considered before. Viewers get to re experience listening to their favorite song for the first time through the reactor. I think that these reactors and a portion of their audiences who never got in to older songs, have started to buy these records and the original fans of the music have a refreshed interest.
This
I thank the lockdown and UA-cam for bringing me my favourite band now...Band-Maid. As exciting to me as discovering Queen in the 70s.
I honestly don't think reaction channels have played that much of a role on people listening to these songs but lockdowns are definitely a big contributing factor to people listening to all kinds of music, not just new music
@@MysticClaws100 In the Air Tonight went back to #1 after a reaction chznnel featured it. It's happened before.
This is an unfair comparison. New music must compete with a persistently growing catalog (that never shrinks). AND, the catalog has shed itself of its contemporary crap and what's left is curated content. I'm an old dude, but I love many songs from current releases. Thanks for your content!! Cheers.
@@Alicedoesart Anything by Adele or Billie Eilish. They are the real deal. Of course, it will depend on your particular musical tastes, but these two are amazing. Cheers.
@@matthewjamestaylor In the last 20 years I would recommend you Florence + The Machine (first 3 albums are top), The Killers (first 3, last two) Ghost (3,4 and 5th) and Halsey (all 4)
I disagree with you ever so strongly. Modern day jazz, funk, blues and rock gets a lot of deserving attention from the audience that cherished it and younger audiences too. They seem to have outdone their predecessors in taste. No excuse of bigger pre existing catalogues. That's it.
Yeah that was my assumption: won't it always be the case that old music 'win' given the growing catalogue of classics?
Right I commented something similar before seeing this. How can we even compare a set number of songs to a constantly growing one where only the most known songs/artists are even kept on the platform.. It creates an inevitable paradigm where people will obviously play songs they know better more, but that doesnt mean new music doesnt do well in its own right.
You cannot beat a back catalogue of 70 years of great pop music. But every day new numbers are added. I guess our children will have the same discussion when they are in their 40s
PS: love you too.
When living in Tokyo, I circulated with a very active (mostly) electronic musicians who only play live (many times per week) and never record anything. These were not hobbyists, but their reasoning was recorded music is over. While I don't want to agree with them, there is a lot of substance in the idea
It would be interesting to hear you do an analysis of the long term ramifications of the revenue model for music shifting away from album sales and even touring.
It seems that most artists are lucky to break even on tours, and even the more well established but not quite mainstream ones might use the entire revenue from one tour to fund the next cycle. This is neither a profitable nor sustainable business model.
If the music itself is no longer the actual product, as it has become less of a revenue stream and more of a marketing channel to pipeline customers to buying merchandise, doesn’t this inherently discourage making music for the sake of artistic merit, rather than aiming for widespread mainstream appeal?
Furthermore, it would seem that, while the technological barriers to entry are lower than ever before (with the affordability and accessibility of relatively decent quality recording equipment), opportunities for achieving actual success in the music industry are proportionally declining, as the playing field becomes increasingly saturated, thereby making it nearly impossible for the average musician to cut through the noise.
Wouldn’t all of these conditions eventually disincentivize truly artistic musicians from pursuing music professionally, leaving a deficit of talent and an excess of, well, glorified TikTokers posing as musicians?
It's always been hard for average musicians to break thru the noise. That's the curse that comes with the benefits of mediocrity, aka average. I'd rather have the very best musicians break thru the noise. Or for local and regional scenes, but good luck with that.
as time goes on the back catalog of everything continues to grow without bounds, the amount of new music is constrained by the number of people bringing it to light - this will approach singularity with the actual total population of those publishing music, and the graph will flatline at our perception of whatever slim fraction we can perceive that's actually beyond mathematics to compute, much less predict; it will seem as if there is NO new music at that point, as a matter of practicality.
I feel that part of the reason for this trend is that major record labels don't want to lose control, and want a sure thing to invest their money (and the shareholders money) in. They have stopped taking chances. You don't see artists or bands, who are self contained unit, because that would give too much control and power away from the record label - that why we don't see artists like Elton John or Prince, or bands like Fleetwood Mac or Queen. Artists this days feel more like a corporate group, where you have 10 songwriters, 5 producers, 10 musicians and the face of it all, who work as individuals. It feel that they do it this way, so they can fire one person, without it affects the group. Therefor giving the label more power. Most great albums have a smaller group behind, who works as a group, and who have been playing together for years. Most legendary bands/artists have 2 - 3 albums behind, before striking gold.
There's still a ton of great music around, but it's harder to find than ever before. Some of the artists mentioned as classic artist are from the 70's. The world population has doubled since then, and the tools to create and showcase music are so much more widely available now that the sheer amount of music, good and bad, is overwhelming.
Great music was part of the shared vibe, there was no ‘digging’ it was ubiquitous.
Agree and this fallacy that repeatedly comes up is that "the good music is out there you just have to look for it bro" like I got shit to do, and there's not even enough years in a human lifetime to listen to all the music out there even if I had nothing to do. What's needed is a fresh and decent new music media so those who aren't musicians but can curate a killer playlist will help people discover and expand their tastes.
That one cool fellow who drank cranberry juice, while skateboarding was listening to DREAMS BY FLEETWOOT MAC :D And i think it played big part in lately success of Rumors. So freaking good album!
Yeah that video went viral so the numbers of streamings exploded and they even appeared on charts world wide because of that. Stevie Nicks reacted to this guy with a video on roller blades I think :D
I used to work at a studio that got many of the American Idol/ Voice singers (runner-ups) trying to make it in the business. What I observed is that they could sing, but you need a lot more in this business to "make" it, like; writing, dancing, performance, business skills, and a hell of a lot of persistence and stamina over many years in order to "make" it. Oh did I mention a ton of LUCK! I noticed that the Beatles spent 7 years performing for thousands of hours before they made it in 63'.
Whoever wrote the perfection / autotune comment nailed it. If you look back the past couple years, the new stuff that really resonated with people had more humanity and real playing. Silk Sonic, billie eilish, adele, even olivia rodrigo
I'm with you, there is stuff out there today that is great, they just aren't pushed enough, they are only heard on college radio or youth radio stations, here in Australia. Commercial radio for decades has played trash. I would still love to see more bands come up, but they just don't get a look in, no one wants to sign them up, take them under their wing and really cultivate their talent, let them do what they want.
Even those suffer from nostalgia
@@candideggplant1575 You mean they're reminiscent of stuff already done? Sadly I agree :(. It feels like everything's been done.
My POV as an active musician and obsessed music aficionado is: 1.) the business of music has been around for a while, but as time has progressed, it’s become more business than music; 2.) pop music (aka commercial music) really gets subjectively, progressively worse every time (see point 1 I made); 3.) There’s actually MORE good music now than before… it’s just NOT pop or in-your-face! Thus it’s harder to find than just switching on your radio and having it force fed to you quickly & efficiently the way pop music has always been done.
You want to find good music? You’ll need to put in a tad bit of effort to discover it. After all, the most [subjectively] valuable things in life are not easily attainable or abundant (e.g. - gold, wealth, love, climbing mt Everest, walking on the moon … you get the gist)
Personally, to me it seems like - and it delights me to see this happening - the labels/radio and all the pesky suits that screwed this up by making this mostly about business (and manipulating things in a negative/artificial way all for the mighty dollar) rather than it being about the music first and foremost (as it should be, naturally), have lost a lot of their power, budget, and sway. And the power and industry has been gradually inclining favorably towards the musicians/artists where it rightfully has ALWAYS belonged. We still have a ways to go though
Could it be survivor bias? Those of us who lived through it remember how much utter shite was on the radio every minute of every day. The record companies have always pushed copycat trash and gimmicks and girls with better looks than sound. Now most of that trash has faded away and what we remember are the cream of the crop.
As a music obsessed teen, the amount of great modern musicians is unequal to how much shit charts on Spotify. There are boring songs on the top 100- stuff by Ed Sheeran, Drake, and Travis- but innovative (at least for My Generation ™) musicians still exist. The problem is dudes like Hawkins or Beato usually won’t search or consider them; Tyler the Creator, Black Midi, BCNR, Frank Ocean, Car Seat Headrest, glass beach- even Kanye, who gets trampled by the media. I listen to lots of 90s and 70s music, and I can safely rank some of these as good as Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, Sonic Youth, and Elliot Smith. you gotta look for them
@@regaul4248 Yeah i totally agree, there are many great artists in this generation, they just don’t get the attention they deserve sadly.
I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE there's more feeling to it than all of the music made today...
the band Love was great, Forever Changes is a beautiful album
*mainstream music
There's some really good music being made today but most people don't know about it because it's never played on the radio. One of my favorite newer performers is Billy Strings. Billy and his band play a what is basically labeled as Americana or bluegrass but is really a fusion of different genres. They are all virtuoso level musicians who sound even better live than in the studio with amazing song writing ability. They play 150 or more live shows per year and every show is different. They cover everyone from Doc Watson and Johnny Cash to Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull and also have 4 albums of original music. The band recently opened for Metallica at Lollapalooza 2022 and most of the crowd had never heard of them before and we're wondering why a "bluegrass band" was opening for a heavy metal band until Billy and the boys showed them exactly why. You can find a UA-cam video of the entire 1 hour set and also lots of other good songs and shows.
There are way more ways to entertain yourself today than awhile back. I think that definitely plays a role. Also many more artists. So I think with the overload, ppl are just going back to what they know.
Yeah there is more of both as it’s easier to independently distribute music on your own. So there’s much much more shit music out there, but also so much more great music: it’s just more of a search to find it in between all the crap.
Yup, the scene is totally diluted with absolute wank. Anyone with a phone can now make and produce music so the good stuff gets lost in the noise. Also it's all about ME these days, people by and large aren't interested in being in bands anymore which is a real shame. I personally am a big believer in mixing your musical sauce with others ala the Darkness or the Beatles, not being Jimmy Onyourown. And don't even get me started on the musical olympics happening on Instagram. It's entertaining for all of .5 seconds. Write a f*cking song!
I think it's also fair to say that people are more used to curating the music they listen to and consuming it on demand. Rick Beato made the interesting point that all pop music is predicated on a hook or a single phrase repeated ad nauseum so it's less about writing something that stands out, more about making something vaguely catchy that people won't turn off.
@@davidgomersall7185 Yeah and they've worn that hook idea right out. It's like the cute puppy videos on Instagram. Cute at first but after 50,000 you just want to punch the little fucker
My cut off point for new music somewhere around 2012. I'm 37 so I'm not the oldest but what happened?
Alan Cross is a radio legend around Toronto. His curated shows on CFNY back in the day or his over-nights were great musical journeys. The Ongoing History of New Music - great stuff lost in time.
Still exists in podcast form.
"The Ongoing History of New Music" is still on every Sunday night at 7:00.
I will always listen to what Alan Cross has to say. Musicologist extrordinaire.
Congratulations, on quitting smoking! One of the few things I retained from a college psychology class was, “it takes three weeks to make a habit, and three weeks to break one.” When I quit, I had that goal in my mind. I quit “cold-turkey”. Step one, quit sticking things in my face and lighting them on fire. Step two, repeat step one every day for three weeks. That was 1997 for me. You only have 19 days to go!
It varies though, up to several months, from person to person
New original live music died a death where I live due to dwindling venues and the resulting drop in audiences, all it takes is one or two venues no longer booking bands to strangle a small scene.
Basically - keep supporting local live music whenever you can.
I listened to currently charting music on Spotify on shuffle and after a solid 2 hours didn’t hear a SINGLE song I wanted to hear again. Music now, like everything else, has become cheap and disposable. Far less love is invested at the listener’s end - where is the big vinyl record in a big sleeve you can touch and read over and over and look at and know off by heart. It’s as much a tactile experience as an auditory one. Without video clips we had our ears and our imagination, none of that is required now. Buying an album was a big deal. You’d listen to the whole thing over and over and get to know it intimately, forwards and backwards. Now if you don’t like the first few seconds you can flick a song and go to the next one. Albums were whole journeys. Now albums are rarely a cohesive body of work and nobody has the commitment or care to know the whole album rather than the ‘hits’.
I was hearing my own heart beat whilst laying on my pillow a couple of nights ago
at the same time I could hear a really nice piano beat in my head
I quickly realised with every heart beat the piano hit a single note
and created a really strong emotional resonance for this track.
This showed me why music is bad these days
because people are valued for their jobs and material wealth
and nobody cares about what the soul can create.
Building your soul and creating good music are becoming lost artforms in our modern age.
Luminate. Illuminate. 2000s sucked artistically.
@@fritzherrmann762 Yeah, Radiohead, Strokes, Interpol, Porcupine Tree, Tool, Yes, Tame Impala, AM, Deftones, SOAD...
@@ZaphiroAnejo ok there were boutique exceptions.
Hey Justin. Love that you name checked Alan Cross. He's a music/DJ legend here in Canada. Highly recommend his Ongoing History of New Music series to geek out over.
Also: my OCD is going bananas over your dangling mic cord. Please, please tidy that up.
While I live in Australia - 'rock' music has for almost 20 years hasn't been given the 'radio airplay' on mainstream networks like it used to be prior to 'grunge' trend. Since that time grunge, nu-metal, dub, hip-hop, alternative, grindcore metal have become the popular music in Australia and friends living in the US and Europe have said the same has happened so after 2 decades, people - especially younger people are discovering 'ROCK' music via the social media platforms and hearing their parents music! From what I can see, Europe seems to be getting into rock music again, in 2021 an Italian glam-rock band won Eurovision so that definitely has made people take notice again, my 9 year old daughter loves bands like Aerosmith, Ratt, Primal Fear, Scorpions, Roadkill (possibly a little bias lol) among others! The sudden new interest in popularity of artists like: Kate Bush, Journey and Metallica was via TV shows, which is how most of the bands from the 80's became successful via MTV and other video shows so if the industry - be it: radio, magazines, websites, video shows - start pushing/playing rock music again, then old and NEW artists in the genre will have success! Look at the recent festivals in Europe, they're not filled with just over 40 year old people, there are plenty of the younger generations attending these BIG festivals too!
3:56 can you do a video where you just say “number 9” over and over?
Really happy to have found your channel! You’re sharing wisdom that sits at the core of music as art.
Another aspect is the Lyrical content. A lot of songs have a strong narrative and/or emotional connection to the listener. You can identify with or at least understand the 'story' in the lyrics and/or have experienced similar emotional feelings. A lot of modern music is 'vacuous' and emotionally flat. I know that not all song lyrics 'need' to have some depth, but if the Lyrics don't have anything 'interesting' to really say then you need something 'interesting' musically - not the same 3/4 chords playing throughout in the 'same' rhythmic pattern with barely any 'dynamic' or 'tempo' changes...
To me, modern music is so 'beige', so empty, vacuous and bland. Older music is like a Kaleidoscope forming an infinite amount of colourful imagery in your mind, it takes you on a 'journey' and you really feel it through every sense of your body. Like a good book that paints the imagery in your mind, makes you feel the way the character(s) feel, it transports you into that world, Old music has a similar impact - you can close your eyes and see the story playout, feel the emotions etc...
I think youve hit the nail on the head. The most recent things on my playlist Ive added have been 2 prog metal songs that talk about dealing with addiction and fighting it. I didnt get anything like that from any pop stuff. A third is a sort of melodic thing that lyrically, talks about losing a close friend that made you a better person. All 3 been on repeat. But aside from that, I actually got into Wet Leg (wasnt too keen at first) because although the lyrics didnt have some insane meaning behind them, the comments were people talking about how fun they were. Music should conjure an emotion in some way - could be anything, platitude, happiness, a good old cry to clean the systen out - anything. Pop music is a processed, unseasoned chicken nugget when it should be a beautifully prepared Korean BBQ (loose metaphor but stay with me) - its just....there. it doesnt *hit*, it doesnt make you feel, its just background noise
Wonderful description, its exactly like that.
"A lot of modern music is 'vacuous' and emotionally flat." and a lot of "old" music was as well. There's plenty of great new music around, and the really great thing is that it's easier than ever to find it.
@@andygolborne5747 Whilst I will agree that quite a few 'older' songs were often flat and vacuous, they didn't generally stand the test of time. Musically speaking, most were more 'interesting' than just using just straight chords with little/no tempo or dynamic variation.
The difference between the 80's for example and today is that 'commercial' music, the music that you heard on Radio, TV, Chart shows etc was much more mixed. You could have Guns N Roses, AC/DC etc in the charts alongside the Police, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, Frakie goes to Hollywood, Madonna etc etc. The songs were the 'voice' of their generation, speaking out on things they were concerned with - politics, wars, drugs, love etc.
Yes you can find 'new' music that has a message, that has depth etc but its not 'easier' because you have to go 'looking' for it. In the past, it was 'everywhere' because it was on Radio, TV etc. Now, you have to go down rabbit holes on Spotify, youtube, instagram or tictoc, trying to find 'something' that isn't the vacuous commercial crap that is so 'beige' with 'nothing' to say (nothing to be controversial, offensive, political etc).
In the 80's, we had music magazines, some with 'free tapes, vinyl etc and of course, by going out to gigs, festivals etc, you'd also get introduced to new bands. Walking into music shops too would also introduce you to 'new' music - often the latest record(s) would be playing and you could often get to hear 'new' records in store before buying too...
@@BAMozzy69 "The songs were the 'voice' of their generation, speaking out on things they were concerned with - politics, wars, drugs, love etc. " and the songs today are the voice of this generation - speaking to the "kids of today" about the same things. We older people might not understand them, same as our parents didn't understand our era music.
I think we look back at out musical golden eras with rose tinted glasses. For every Police , AC/DC (you sound the same era as me... :-) ) there was a whole load of dross in the pop charts. What was "everywhere" was generally commercial shit, and buying those early Police, XTC singles or AC/DC albums you were always in a minority.
"Now, you have to go down rabbit holes on Spotify". Not at all. I really find Spotify a joy for new music and the more I listen to varied stuff the more it offers me. Other people's play lists are also a great thing - that's the equivalent of going to someone else's house and listening to their records.. And you can listen before you but to your heart's content.
"...and of course, by going out to gigs, festivals etc, you'd also get introduced to new bands." and this of all things absolutely happens today. Live music is incredibly successful. There are more festivals , big and small, these days than ever and masses of gigs by all sized bands. Bands actually need to play live more these days to make money so everyone's a winner. The "kids" at the couple of festivals we've been to this year could not have been more receptive to all sorts of stuff, as well as being knowledgeable about the bands they had come to see. There are great modern musicians with plenty to say to this generation. They are very lucky. Same as we were.
Great to hear you're quitting smoking. All the best, I know you can make it!
Started smoking at 15 and continued for twenty years...it's hard.. I really enjoyed it but I didn't realize how bad it made me felt until I had stopped. It's been ten years on the other side of it now and there are still rare moments when I crave it..but I remember how shitty it made me feel and that keeps me in check. Good luck man!
New York to San Francisco - an intercity disco.
Congrats on quitting the smokes, hope you manage to keep it up.
I smoked for 33 years and quit in 2018. It’s been great for my overall health and stamina, but particularly for my voice. I can’t remember when, if ever, the instrument was this versatile and nuanced. When I started singing I’d already been a smoker for a number of years.
Good luck with the channel, it’s great late night entertainment.
My total, unprofessional, no degree, pulled outta my ass theory - its depression. The world's mental health tanked hard during covid, and when youre depressed, you go with something familiar. So people will be listening to stuff from when it wasnt perceived to be so shit.
I have no base for this hypothesis, other than I also suffer and I'll be honest, even finding this channel and thinking "Oh shit, its Justin from the Darkness!" And Ive binged the stuff because its a familiar face to me (Kerrang heyday anyone? Damn those were the days)
People dont seem to like new music because its unfamiliar. Look at Mr Brightside, its never left the UK charts. The world is suffering, and someone singing about all the money they have (not just rap these days) and its just a kick in the teeth
Anyway, thanks for this Justin, it needed to be said, and thanks to anyone who suffered through my TED talk ❤️
Well said. What about this theory? ua-cam.com/users/shorts-WF8JBf21p4?feature=share
There's also the fact that new music is shite, we're not just old.
@@smallfaucet It’s not all bad. There are some great, new bands if you look for them.
@@silver47official You are correct Sir. Just came to youtube to do just that!
@@smallfaucet Happy hunting.
I always use the food analogy you put in the end: Fast Food can be nice once in a while. It is however shallow, made for mass consumption and not very nutritious. The art of making a more complex, nutritious meal takes time, practice, thinking. It's therefore more expensive to make and that will cost you more to eat. Unfortunately the industry is not interested in that anymore and wants a quick buck. Studios are closing and we're force-fed fast food through radio, spotify playlists and UA-cam algos. Brilliant to see some young people are not having that and want substance. Unfortunately contemporary artists can't have the time or resources to perfect that art anymore, so the only way for the general crowd to get substance is by going back.
Luckily people can record more at home and make brilliant stuff off the radar, but it's hard to find for most when Streaming services have the new Harry Styles on autoplay when you startup, eventhough apparently no one wants to hear that.
And it won't be a big production. Studios and artists that could make a big production are resorting to UA-cam to make a living by offering Mix-tutorials or Patreons (no disrespect meant at all) to keep their heads above the water. And those are people that had a headstart in the sense that they used to make a living off of music before and are well known. Very tough if you are a musician these days. Having a dayjob and 1 hour a day to perfect your art is a lot less hours to be brilliant than the hours the people before the 2000s could put in
Even though it's a little old at this point, I feel like you can't ignore that fact that the Rumours was turned into a pretty easy, clean meme.
The combination of a lot of young and sheltered people getting exposed to music through their memes, and the fact that it happens to be a song from fucking Rumours, makes it easy to continue to sell.
Much like these rumours…ua-cam.com/users/shortstN96nXo9cj8?feature=share
This is so true that I can't read the word "sell" without thinking of Megadeth
@@lucasmiguel4734 ""Peace Sells, But Who's Buying?"
@@terryholden3064 Yep
Here's an idea: With more of the workforce staying home and not commuting, they're not tuning into the radio, and therefore not being bombarded by whatever iHeartMedia, Cumulus, or whatever other radio conglomerate you'd care to choose. Plus, the flip side of all this is that the back catalogue of the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, etc. has plenty of mediocre tracks and one-hit wonders, they just didn't stand the test of time.
I took a road trip recently, and happened to tune into a radio station which was re-broadcasting one of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 shows. And sure, there were plenty of 80's stalwarts that I stll hear today. But there's also really bad, weird, dated songs that virtually no modern listener would remember. My point here is that old music has an immense survivors bias. Everyone's heard Mozart, but very few could hum even a bar of the works of most of his contemporaries.
The best concert I have ever seen was the Bath Festival of Blues on Saturday 28 June 1969. I still have the programme, too many acts to list here, but here are some Fleetwood Mac, John Mayal, Ten Years After, Nice, and Led Zeppelin. Ah those really were the days. Old age, I forgot the L in Mayall.
lack of bootlegs for that concert sadly. amazing to see Lep on such a tiny stage, compared to only a few years later ruling the world.
Nailed it. Confidence confidence confidence. It's called music "THEORY" not music LAW. There IS no right or wrong way......does it sound good or not? That is All that matters. But then there's EGO. LET IT ALL GO FOLKS! This rock we live on & the universe in which it travels, needs every single note & rhythm we can create. I would much rather have a garage band, than a bedroom studio. However, with today's mindset, my bedroom studio is the only way I can make music...alone & boring. All because people are scared they're not good enough, OR, they think they can do it all better & don't want to share the results of success. A solo artist still needs a band, & notes are only divided by your brain. Collaborate, bounce ideas, & play "wrong" notes. We might just make the next new thing......TOGETHER. Somewhere in the gray area between insecurity & absolute caulkiness, lies genius, or perhaps clerisy. There, Rant complete. Thank you mister Hawkins! you rock & your channel is 🔥 awesome. Tribute concert was epic! You were great! Now I'm out........✌️💚🤘 #billywaylls @billywaylls
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors has had several songs go viral on Tik tok introducing many new zoomers to one of the best bands of all time. I love it
Wow. Just imagine if they heard _Black Magic Woman_ or _Green Manalishi (With A Two-Pronged Crown)!_
Thanks for calling a spade a spade. The new music isn’t that great. I for one, a front of house sound engineer for the same act now for over a decade, am very let down when I work for the occasional one-off a-lister and all they want to do is talk about their fucking 3 minute song for 12 minutes. There’s no show anymore. When I saw you guys near St Louis back on April 1st (I think the date was right), ya’ll we’re fucking brilliant. You had a show. The act I work for, took the day off to cater my bachelor party which culminated in us turning up at your gig and we were happily entertained! So thanks for that! Getting back to the new music, I truly feel like artists are in a hurry and foolishly rush post production.
Anyhow, I love these little segments! Come back to America. Would happily turn up at another gig!
Cheers!
Just a quick follow up - congratulations on beginning your no smoking journey. It takes awhile, but the irritability doesn’t last forever. Food actually begins tasting good again after about six weeks.
Kate Bush: according to David (GIlmour), the record company couldn't find a producer to work with her that they liked the result and were going to ditch her. David stepped back in and said, "put her with the guy that I put her with in the first place, you know, the one that did the stuff with her that you liked." They did, and it did.
The last real rock revolution was in the early 90s. That gave just enough fuel to help inspire other subgenres of rock for about 10 years or so. There are still great bands like Hum, Deftones, Tool, Failure, but they're all getting older. There are no Kurt Cobains, no self-destructive frontmen with unspoken amounts of talent, no spokesmen for a generation anymore. Once the 2010s hit, it was all over. We've hit a cultural wall and only crap has taken over the airwaves
People in work think I'm mad as I sometimes sing your theme tune for no reason
I was on vacation and it seems you've been busy. I have like 10 videos to catch up on! Thanks for keeping UA-cam interesting.
People just need to turn their attention to the music scene in Japan for real quality in new music. BAND-MAID, Nemophila, Garcharic Spin, Asterism, Lovebites to just name a few in the rock music scene of various genres. Technically amazing musicians, talented vocalists, great live performances usually even better than what's recorded in the studio. Rock is alive and doing well there
Yep. Japan killing it right now.
Japan rocks hard. I highly recommend.
Sweden has some fantastic new '80's style rock bands.
I love your channel. Great content. An old friend who passed away was a huge fan of yours would of loved your channel too. Good luck and rock on. 😀
Agree Justin is great, and has great insight. What a singer and guitarist too.
@@Mattythebassman exactly :)
Past few years has been a case of me coming across great older music that I have missed purely because it was not in the mainstream, Cardiacs was my biggest example cannot believe they were not bigger though I do have a vague memory of maybe seeing the song Day is Gone on Mtv late night late back when they did show some lesser known stuff. I tend to find the newer stuff I like is not the stuff that gets the massive airplay
There's this line from the preview of the new Disney Pinocchio where the fox is telling Pinocchio, "Why would you want to be real when you can be famous?" And I thought, 'that explains so much of modern culture.'
Because artists don't need labels so much nowadays I think that the sheer oversaturation of new music can be overwhelming to people.
Also, for new artists to be recognised it's all about getting songs featured on Spotify / Amazon music playlists and making songs with catchy moments that are shareable on social media sites like Tik Tok, so newer artists get known for one or two individual songs, rather than a back catalogue of masterfully composed music.
They do have labels. What a weird defense of labels on a point that isn't even true lol like who the fuck doesn't have a label?
@@jakechinatown Just to clarify, are you suggesting that independent artists don't exist?
You can create a playlist based on your own taste & on suggestions based on algorithms, which are calculated based on your listening patterns. Seeing as streaming allows access to a wide spectra of music based on the above, a lot of people are poasibly 'sonic tasting' everything with far more ease than in days of yore; if you can listen & skip with ease, then the desire to wade through more than a minute of a track patiently becomes a non-starter.
Couple that with some creative licensing on all visual platforms, who themselves are coming up with sticky content at a rapid rate, then what used to be 'where's that album i haven't heard anywhere in years?' becomes a goldmine for sync useage, and consequently streaming, donwloads & buying.
MTV was meant to provide a visual platform for all artists, to help sales abd publicity. Now the visual content is at the forefront, so the music supervisor (s) are potentially shaping thousands, if not millions of people's tastes.
Plus Ca Change; the gatekeepers are there, as is everything else. Only the delivery mechanisms have changed; there's more ways to get your music than ever before.
Like literature achieved thousands of years ago, recorded music has lifetimes of content now available. When that happens classics become the most reliable source of "quality". But don't worry, the pendulum ALWAYS swings back (& forth).
"Never had a live gig" Brings to mind Susan Vega who wrote her early songs playing live songs in (I believe) a lounge bar. Because it was close to the record company she wanted to sign with. I'm pretty sure "Tom's Diner" was written there, and it's about the local neighborhood there.
I wonder if the proliferation of virtuoso instrumentalists on platforms like youtube and tiktok might be a hidden factor as well. When you see what all these young shredders and bangers who care about their craft can do with their instruments, it might suddenly becomes a lot more interesting than production-based pop music.
It's the other way around. Why limit yourself to a small selection of tools (instruments) when you can make sound out of anything now?? People my age now are getting a DAW and experimenting with production rather than limiting themselves to one or two 'real' instruments.
I think a lot of new music is factory produced in a way it just wasn't in the 80s and 90s. Both Queen and Kate Bush are pretty good examples of artists that were allowed to throw paint at the canvas and sell it whichever way it splashed. Artists get pushed toward marketing trends these days which is disappointing because it's innovation that sets new trends, not following what's worked before.
The difference is the two artists you mention had/have TALENT...
@@PaulMappud Well yes but there's plenty of talent still out there. Is it being picked up? Is it being allowed to be experimental like they were? I'm not so sure.
@@MissMdubs : I don't think being allowed comes into it, I believe they wanted to give and it came from the heart, the money was important yes but it was their art that truly mattered, (this is why nobody can do a good Freddie Mercury impersonation, everyone does a "look at me I'm great" he didn't do that he did it "for" the audience) Dido has it, Paul Heaton has it, Muse have it , that bird from Texas has it, they are Stars with something to give.
11:34 Ah, yes indeed. We've come full circle Mr. Hawkins. Where the Venga Boys were concerned, I could sense the clandestine love that simmered quietly in your heart when, in one of your previous videos, you dared to speak ill of Europe's greatest export since the Rubik's Cube. I doff my cap to you and your belated admission that sometimes you just want to climb aboard, put your feet up and let the Vengabus take you for a groovy ride.
This was fantastic! How did I not know you had a podcast?
Thank you, mighty UA-cam algorithm.
Physical sales meant there was an imperative to sell 'new' albums. Now it's completely digitised it's different. Also a global homogenization of culture means new music lacks cultural significance. We no longer see geographical gestation (Seattle etc...) which allow bands to develop and grow (and thus increase in quality) etc...
lots of reasons
Good day Mister Hawkins, thanks for the great videos, and thanks for and gave us a glance on how a musician / multi awarded mind works, my question, if you allow me of course, is, what do you think about the article you just mentioned over this video, do the new generations are afraid of failure? Or technology just make us lazier to go outside and interact with people (the article mentioned that some groups released music without played any gigs) Saludos desde Mexico!
I've just recently got into the 70s band 'City Boy'. Absolutely amazing band and better than anything in the charts today. But hardly got a look in back then.
I’ve purchased two new cars in my life. 2006 and 2021. The 2006 got the radio stations programmed before we left the lot. The 2021 has never had the AM/FM button pushed.
Something will happen in music sooner or later, it always does.
I went to the store yesterday and there's a 20-year-old kid working there that knows the lyrics toJefferson Starship songs that I don't even know all the lyrics and I've seen them in concert in the 80s. although, I was in no condition to memorize any lyrics in 1980s not Jefferson Starship anyway. Kate Bush was discovered and quietly co-produced by David Gilmore. She was with very good company.
"surprised face" lol ...old records have a swing, a heartbeat...todays music (not all, before someone starts that...) is grided, pro-tooled and computer perfected which removes the human elements that makes music magical and diminishes the swing that people unknowingly vibrate to. It creates a sterile output that doesn't resonate with peoples souls.
...Luke...turn off your computer..use the Force...
Human beings are very attuned to the effect of timeless music. It’s often provocative, personal and relatable. To have a song resonate with you as if someone is saying the words or cultivating emotions that you struggled to find. I’m going through a pretty dark depression currently and as I was driving around the other day I was listening to “Kiss Off” from the Violent Femmes and when he starts starts the counting parts, I realized Gordon Gano was depressed as fuck when he wrote these. 1- ‘cause you left me, 2 for my family, 3 for my heartache, 4 for my headache, 5 for my lonely, 6 for my sorrow, 7 no tomorrow, 8 (I forget what 8 was for), 9 for the lost god, 10 for everything. Damn
For me, music began falling apart when rap started to become huge. So, I would say, at the beginning of the 90s. I kept listening to my favorite artists but hardly ever listened to something new that appealed to me.
Hi Justin,
Last week I was having a clear out and discovered my CD single of Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It’s Christmas. I was wondering if you had any amusing anecdotes about the day(s) you and Dan were in the studio recording the song/filming the video. I think it’s an interesting snapshot of music in the UK at the time and it’s interesting to see how many artists like yourselves have stood the test of time and are still around today!
Its just that old music makes you FEEL something, most of new music just souds good but it lacks of soul and autenticity. I think its not always the fault of the artists, sometimes they have the talent and do the work but is the over production of the tracks that strips the songs of their original spirit. The labels are making the wrong bet i guess.
New music is just trying to sell you clothing and shoes
The problem is everything sounds likes it’s recorded on the same systems now. Pop on a Fleetwood Mac album, or one by Genesis, or Queen and they’re all so diverse. Today, every guitar, drums and production sound the same. It’s sterile and you lose interest before the first song ends.
Would love to see you do an episode on David Lee Roth and Van Halen.
I just watched the Davd Lee Roth episode from last month. My bad.
I think we've spoiled ourselves. We desire everything good to be immediately available without any sort of effort. It doesn't work that way with today's music, especially with the sheer volume of it. You actually have to explore the genre you enjoy so much and branch out into other subgenres, or observe your favourite artist's inspirations and go back on the time line and see how else was inspired by said person. You have to dig deep to find music that resonates with the individual, but I feel like a lot of people would rather bring up tiktok and watch funny videos than dig through the massive volume of music to find new tunes. Just depends on the person I suppose, sorry for ranting.
Dude yeah most new music blows chunks. You have to dig HARD to find really great new music. At least for me but I’m a rock, alt rock, goth rock, even metal/hard rock fan and none of this is in fashion so keep diggin!!
Check out Chinaki Legfish sounds right up your alley
@@ScienceBabble Dude!! Your so right🤘🏻🤘🏻🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think the pandemic changed people’s mentality. We were locked up and bored and two things happened. First - due to the trauma we gravitated towards things we knew and were comfortable with. And second, people want an outlet to express both their anger at the world and their deep desire to have fun. A lot of current music isn’t doing that, either thematically, and especially dynamically. There seems to be a movement back towards music that sounds more “real” and organic, as well as music that has those large dynamic changes from the 90s.
We made two imperfect as all get out albums and I'm damn proud of them. You can't be that sloppy on purpose. There is lots of good new rock music out there. I like The Chats a lot.
This. The chats are awesome, tons of great songs. 6L GTR is a great song, the animated video is fantastic.
Imagine finding a Chat fans in the wild, those yobbos are a fucking crack up.
Oh yeah - Justin should look into the chats
@@melonfarmers1 Yeah that would be great!
My two penn'orth worth on the algorithm argument. When Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, and all those other catalogue artists the algorithm wasn’t a computer deciding what you should or could be listening. It was Radio disc jockey (or DJ) who was curating and playing the new releases, promoting and encouraged listeners to find new and exciting artists. Great VID 👍
There is an amazing amout of good new or young artists in rock, metal, prog and blues. Most are having to do the things the hard way. No money from labels etc. Then folks don't buy stuff but listen to playlists on streaming channels. What annoys the shit out of me are those who whinge that there is "nothing good out there... where's the next AC/DC or G n R?" and who never actually go out to a music venue (those smaller venues where talented bands and artists can be found) or smaller festivals which feature newer artists. If they don't actually get off their fat arses they aren't going to find great new bands and eventually those bands will end up giving up as they can't feed families with the money coming in.
Recently I had the pleasure of being at Call Of The Wild Festival in England and enjoyed 3 and a half days of music by newer performers. Bloody great weekend. In talking to some of the bands at the event I can say that many of them are working their asses off and doing all the sorts of things to get noticed they can. Some spend more than they earn because they love music and want to create good new music.
its because most people who claim to have "good taste" only got It through listening to the radio and what was shoved in their face much the same as the average listener of mainstream radio. the only difference is one isn't claiming to have a superior music taste due to their insecurities
I haven't smoked in four years and it's great to be free of the burden of that addiction, you'll do it Justin. Every day you will feel better. Good Luck!
Yes I think the ‘too much choice’ (over-saturated market) is part of the issue. But I think the main reason the ‘new music industry’ is not performing is because music doesn’t have to be new, it just has to be NEW TO YOU. And this is what the likes of Spotify does. It opens up a whole new world of music to people, even though the music itself is not necessarily ‘new’.
"New York and San Francisco, an inter city disco", is the Vengaboys lyric.
Good luck with quitting smoking - keep it up!!!
It depends on how you class “current” music. If you define it as new break out artists, then I pretty much agree with everything listed in the article. Those new artists seem to pop up out of nowhere to the height of fame based on one overly manufactured and mediocre single that becomes a hit because of being played ad nauseum on the TV, radio and social media. Meanwhile, established bands and artists are relegated almost to obscurity where only avid fans and followers can find them. As an example, if it weren’t for this channel, I wouldn’t have known that Paolo Nutini or The Gorillaz have new albums out and they are established artists that I greatly enjoy. Isn’t that current music too?
I can’t imagine going to see an artist perform without a live band behind them as so many new artists seem to do, for me it would completely defeat the object. I believe wholeheartedly that the ability to play instruments live, individually or as a band will always be respected.
And of course older bands are regaining popularity. These are household names who everyone knows and enjoys, and as we are sadly witnessing the demise of the CD, perhaps the increase in streaming and downloads is more a sign of the times than any real change in what people are listening to. Fleetwood Mac, Queen, The Eagles, Kate Bush and so many others are artists that anyone born before the Millennium are going to actively seek out, and I’m glad that Gen Z are discovering them too. It’s just great music isn’t it?
P.S. Congratulations on two days smoke free Justin! Your lungs will love you for it in the long run! Keep it up, you got this! 🥰
Keep in mind that as time moves on, the amount of music that qualifies as ‘catalog’ keeps increasing. When I was a kid in the 80’s…catalog music was about 30 years back to the 50’s. Now catalog music goes back 60-70 years.
Alan Cross is one of Canada’s most revered music writers. Smart guy with great skills.
I'm impressed by his work here. Decent thoughts without clickbaity claims. A music journo worth reading, a rarity today!
Hi Justin, I'm a fan from Malaysia (now living in the UK) and I really enjoy watching your videos. From my personal experiences, I spent half of my teenage years in Malaysia. Me and my classmates would all rather dug into Zeppelin, Purple, Sabbath, Hendrix, Queen, Aerosmith, Nirvana, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, KISS and many other iconic acts from the 60s-90s rather than contemporary artists (although there's a few good ones). Same thing here in the UK. I think it's because the songs are meaningful and relatable to the listener, unlike most songs these days.
You were right in the beginning. New music is SHIT!! The last new band I heard that was worth listening to was Greta Van Fleet!
Good to see someone else mention greta van fleet. The lead singer in my opinion has a voice that could match the greats. The lead guitarist also won guitarist of the year. Their latest album feels new like a style that we haven’t seen. Awesome to see them tour with Metallica also !
“New music is shit” do you listen to new music? If you don’t then how would you know? I’m a huge rock fan and there’s so much great modern rock. Greta Van Fleet is pretty boring to me, because it sounds like I’ve already heard it before. Good modern rock should sound unique in my opinion, Måneskin, Idles, Turnstile, Royal Blood, Fontaine’s DC., The Chats, Ghost, Nothing But Thieves, The Warning, The Pretty Reckless, The Backseat Lovers, You Me At Six, Rival Sons, Dirty Honey, IDKHOW, The Oral Cigarettes, Anti-Flag, The Blue Stones, Reignwolf, The Struts, Palaye Royale, The Mountain Goats, and most of all, King Gizzard. That’s what modern rock is and it’s great.
@@gezi0752 Don't forget Highly Suspect, Bring Me The Horizon, Violent Soho, Skeggs, Dune Rats, DZ Deathrays, Yours Truly and many more
But you only say that because they sound like what you are most familiar with
The old music was made by People, new music is made by corporations. It's been turned into a product where its about making a thing to sell in wall-mart over making a thing to express a idea, feeling or telling a story.
New metal music is waaaaaaaaay too complex, bunch of dudes creating a 6 minute avalanche of notes.I also think technology has taken audio productions into a place, where it is almost unpleasant for the ears and brain :)
Yep. Riff salad, they call it
There are plenty of bands that don't do that.
There's a lot of great music in the world...and more is released every year. It's not that new music is crap, that's a view that's been held by every generation since the popular music charts began and it's never really been true, it's that the majority of chart success comes from industry backing and the industry only has an eye for commercial success over artistic integrity. Since the birth of the internet, however, the industry has lost an enormous amount of it's grip over musical consumption. UA-cam means that a listener has access to whatever genre takes their fancy at any time. Bandcamp gives an enormous catalogue of independent artists free to experiment without commercial pressures. Given the amount of choice available to a young consumer, the charts should be seen as much less important than they ever were before.
As an old git I have heard and sometimes seen all sorts of groups from when The Stones were the back up group. To me most modern stuff sounds computer generated. Lyrics are minimal and repetative and in general its all uninspriring. Then I discovered the Japanese music scene which includes a very healthy rock and heavy metal sections. Listen to Band Maid amongst the most creative rock bands ever and have talent off the scale and Lovebites brilliantly clever heavy metal. Japanese talent is way above the west. Band Maid (5) includes 3 pianists to concert level and are lead by a genius lead guitar/composer. Their knowledge of musical theory is outstanding whereas many western musicians can read music at all. There is no comparison, Give them a try.
That doesn't sound like Rock and Roll to me. To each their own, I guess.
I actually suggest you to control even the musical scenario of nowadays. Just know _where_ to control. For example this year there's been "Light For Attracting Attention" from the Smile which is an awesome album (probably because anything made by Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke sounds awesome)
>Then I discovered the Japanese music
+. this scene saved my musical world. Rly the last hope
the only good that the west scene can made today is new old-fashioned things, lul
Looking very natty in that jacket, Justin. I hope you’ve been able to keep up the no cigs rule, but if not, don’t worry, we have every faith you can try again and succeed!
Young people are finding old music somehow. Via t.v. shows, tiktoks, or relatives.
I made my nephew fall in love with King Crimson after showing him dozens of artists he didn't care for, King Crimson was the one that clicked with him. Later it was Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, NIN, A Perfect Circle, Pink Floyd, etc.
I tried with younger Facebook acquaintances, succeeded with some (a few years ago I made a teenager fall in love with Kate Bush so now that Running Up the Hill is hitting the big time again, she feels ecstatic, she's no longer alone), some others didn't care but eventually they listened to my recommendations due to peers already picking up that music.
It's up to the older generations to show the youngsters the keys to Heaven before we croak.
It's a worthy goal.
P. S.
UA-cam reaction channels are also, and probably one of the most influential mediums to spread awareness of great music right now (not just music but also movies). The YT algorithm is doing something right. The vinyl resurgence is also a huge factor, youngsters are experiencing physical media, and getting truly involved, immersed in the experience of truly listening to music. A time and a place to appreciate it. People are hungry for real experiences, real emotions. Hedonism is wearing old.
Who owns these back catalogs, licenses and markets them to contemporary audiences... Hmm... 🤔
The music industry is still fairly young, but it's no longer competing as a popular form of entertainment. Attention spans are shorter than ever, and popular media is so much more visual, brief, and intense now. People are used to being stimulated almost non-stop now, for better or for worse. The fact that "catalogue" music is so much more popular is telling; it means people are going to their "safe space" when they listen to music -- songs that are familiar, and that they've heard a thousand times. Basically "mailing it in" as a music listener. The music itself has always been a loss leader, so nothing new there -- the difference is, these days, the upper echelon in the music biz doesn't need the music to be timeless, or memorable; they just gotta get the spins and get those ads jammed in there, so that as soon as people are sick of that one, the next recyclable marketing vehicle comes out to replace it. The days of this universal source (radio) driving physical sales of musical media are over. Even physical touring is in flux right now, and it remains to be seen how necessary it will even be, especially when the top 90% of music being listened to is by artists that may/may not even be alive. I don't want this to sound cynical -- quite the contrary. I think the true artists are going to do what they do, anyhow, and there's never been a better time to be an indie musician.
There has always been a direct correlation between popular tv shows and music popularity. I’m not that surprised at the influx of popularity of older music.
What we are seeing is people are not buying what is being pushed on them. Why private businesses are trying to sell people music that isn't popular is a mystery to me.
Good luck on the smoking cessation. I am currently heading towards my 4th year cigarette free. I still think about how glorious one may taste, but have stayed true.
I’m sure you will experience positive results.